Friday, three very dangerous criminals escaped the from California jail in which they were being held. The trio of escapees include 20-year-old Jonathan Tieu, held on charges of murder, attempted murder and shooting at an inhabited dwelling; Hossein Nayeri, 37, had been held on charges of kidnapping, torture, aggravated mayhem and burglary; and 43-year-old Bac Duong, was being held without bond since last month on charges of attempted murder, assault with a deadly weapon, shooting at an inhabited dwelling, and possession of a firearm charges.

The trio were being held in Orange County Central Men’s Jail in Santa Ana, about 40 miles southeast of Los Angeles. The escapees cut through steel bars, proceeded to the roof, and rappelled down the side of the building to freedom with ropes made of cloth from bedsheets.

Nayeri has a history of evading authorities. After committing his crime, Nayeri fled to his homeland of Iran but was later apprehended in Prague, Czech Republic, in 2014.

According to the L.A. Times, authorities believe the trio had been planning the escape for months. Tony Barboza and Frank Shyong, reporters for the Times wrote,

“Investigators are now relying on information from the public as we are exhausting every lead we have,” said Lt. Jeff Hallock of the Orange County Sheriff’s Department. The escape was the first jail break at the facility in downtown Santa Ana in nearly 30 years. “This appears to be a very sophisticated operation,” Sheriff Sandra Hutchens said.

This is the second time in less than a year that inmates who had been convicted of violent crimes have escaped from prison. In June, Richard Matt, 34, and David Sweat, 48 escaped from a maximum security prison in Dannemora, N.Y. It was later discovered that the pair had help from a female security guard who had furnished tools which were used to cut through bars and effect an escape for the inmates. One of the prisoners was later apprehended while the other was shot and killed.